Seasonal dynamics of three lepidopteran stored grain pests in Slovenia

Abstract

In the period 2004-2006 seasonal dynamics of Mediterranean flour moth ( Ephestia kuehniella ), Indianmeal moth ( Plodia interpunctella ) and Angoumois grain moth ( Sitotroga cerealella ) was studied in the mills and grain warehouses in central Slovenia. For this purpose pheromone traps were used from April until December, and the males of all three lepidopteran pests were counted in two week intervals. The three insect pests under investigation developed two peaks in capture per year that might represent two distinct generations per year. In the maize open air storage Ephestia kuehniella was the most numerous, while Plodia interpunctella was more frequent in the closed storage in mills and warehouses, Sitotroga cerealella was slightly less common in these latter closed warehouses. Keywords : Monitoring, Lepidoptera, Stored grain pest, Pheromones, Slovenia